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Ravi Mittal |191 Answers |Ask -Follow

Dating, Relationships Expert - Answered on Apr 02, 2024

Ravi Mittal is an expert on dating and relationships.
He founded QuackQuack, an online dating platform, in 2010 with just two people. Today, it has over 20 million users in India.... more

Question by Kanishka on Mar 31, 2024Hindi

Hi Ravi, You might still remember me, Kanishka Niyogi, the one who wrote to you about a tiff with a girl of a different background. We belong to different worlds, she a rich Punjabi and I a lower middle class Bengali. After the tiff, the poor lady was shocked since I was so very rude to her. Recently she has got in touch with me again after I managed to convince her that I indeed did try to be a good friend of hers. What I'm seeking advice on is how I should assure her that I won't ever hurt her again. How can I make it up to her? Should I gift her something? While I'm not really looking to get into something deep with her, I want to remain a trustworthy friend of hers forever. How do I tell her that irrespective of how anyone treats her, she should stay confident that she's a nice woman? How do I help her raise her self esteem? Lots of questions!! Looking forward to your advise. Thanks!

Ans: Dear Kanishka,

Let's get into it one by one. How to assure her that you won't hurt her again? Well, words are not enough most of the time. That does not mean you need to buy her gifts. It's time. Time is the answer. Give her time. Let your actions speak for you. Once enough time has passed and you have held your end of the bargain, she will know that you meant what you said. You would not need to convince or assure her. Just keep being a good friend. Next, should you buy her a gift? You can if you want to; who doesn't like gifts? But that won't accelerate the process of her trusting you. How to convince her to be confident and help her raise her self-esteem? As a friend, all you can do is constantly remind her how amazing she is and all that she has achieved and point out the positives in her. That can boost her confidence. But the journey to regaining or gaining self-esteem is her own. It isn't your place to push her; just a friendly reminder now and again would be nice.

Best Wishes!

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Anu Krishna |868 Answers |Ask -Follow

Relationships Expert, Mind Coach - Answered on Jul 22, 2022

Question by MK - Jul 22, 2022Hindi

Hello Anu,Pls help. I am in a lot of mental trauma right now. I wrote to you earlier but my article was not published. I am a 36 years male married for the last 7 years with 2 kids. Last year when I was alone and my family was at my native place, I got close to one of my female school friends who is single. We came close and talked a lot. Gradually I fell in love and gifted her close to Rs 2 lakhs rupees to fulfil her shopping and household expenses. On realising that I am being trapped with no future in sight, I asked to return my money. This infuriated the girl and she abused me citing that I am making fun of her poverty and all. I understood the situation and told her to just return Rs 25k and stop. Thereafter we started talking again but obviously the intensity reduced. Over the last 8 months, my family is back and I cannot get over her. I constantly try to ping or call her but 90% of the time she doesn’t respond. I recently sent her Rs 15k for her birthday which she accepted after initial refusal. Now when I messaged her to know how her day was, she really got angry and blocked me on all social media platforms. I reached out to her sister to assuage her and apologize. She called and really abused me citing the constant family surveillance she is under. I promised I won’t text or call her for the next 2 months. Now I don’t know what to do. Should I ask her or her sister for the money to be returned if this escalates? Because she warned me that she would report to the police if I don’t stop messaging. She fears that family members know about me. She doesn’t have parents but is under constant family surveillance. Pls suggest the next course of action. Should I cut her off completely and risk losing the 2 lakhs and gain my mental peace or try to communicate intermittently? The day she abused me I really lost my mental peace. Pls advice.

Ans:

Dear MK,

What advice can I give you when the solution is right in front of you?

She wants to get your attention and fulfil her monetary needs; that’s all, Doesn’t that tell you anything? And when you try and contact her, she says that she is under surveillance.

How much of this has affected your marriage? What exactly was the need to step out of marriage for this attention?

Sometimes, we fancy things that are prohibited and this happens when we do not feel grateful with what we have and constantly chase what we don’t have. Time to work on your marriage?

Start first by loving yourself as this will tell you how much ignoring oneself can cause havoc in core relationships. Why should your wife bear the brunt of what’s going on? Your full commitment

is what she seeks and here you are mulling over a relationship that is based on selfishness and need-basis.

Can you please re-evaluate what your priorities are and put your life back in order?

Do this for yourself and your family…Your work, health and state of mind will start to improve. It’s time you took charge and I am sure you know how to do this.

All the best!

Relationship

Anu Krishna |868 Answers |Ask -Follow

Relationships Expert, Mind Coach - Answered on Oct 19, 2022

Question by KN - Oct 19, 2022Hindi

Anu, Request you to keep my identity anonymous.I am a 40 years old guy, happily married with two kids. I have a lot of friends and I have invariably introduced most of them to my wife.While with a previous organisation that I worked for, I met this girl (say M) and we became very good friends. M is 2½ years younger to me, is married and has kids. Much like with my other friends, I introduced M to my wife. M has also been home a couple of times during festive occasions.While so, during a family day event at office almost 5 years back, during an apparent conversation between M and me, we were engrossed in the conversation and my wife was standing right next to me. My wife thought that she was deliberately being snubbed/ignored and got offended with M's behaviour. Since then my wife developed some sort of a hatred towards M. Many a times I tried explaining to my wife that M's behaviour was not offensive and even if it was, was unintentional. It's been nearly six years since this happened, but that animosity still continues. The more I try to explain to her, the angrier she gets. We have had a lot of fights whenever this topic arises. I am scared to even pick M's calls when my wife is around. What this has done is that I started speaking to M discreetly. I had to delete all photos that I had with her. I constantly keep deleting all WhatsApp conversations and call logs that I have with her.I do not want to do all these secret things especially when I am not doing anything wrong. I want my wife to give M one more chance. My wife does not think I have a relationship with M. Her point is that I should not talk to someone who has insulted her (my wife). I think that it would not be fair for me to stop talking to M.My question is how do I instill sense into my wife? How do I convince her to give M one more chance? I don’t want to lose a good friend.

Ans:

Dear K,

If your wife has felt snubbed and you feel that she is being unreasonable, what can you do if you wife isn’t willing to befriend M?

The more you fight this, the more your wife feels that there is something going on.

Doubts in the mind spread like slow fire consuming the mind and you are adding fuel to the fire by being adamant on maintaining the connection with M.

Now you wife is convinced that she must not have anything to do with her and you should not as well.

What do you want to do? Spoil the peace at home because of an external connection?

It may not seem fair to you, but there is a reason why your wife felt snubbed by M at that time.

She is unrelenting and does not want M in the equation. Why are you fighting this?

I am asking you choose between the peace within the marriage and an external connection.

There will be a point in time when your wife will be willing to look at this objectively and that is the time to talk to her about it.

Right now, it will be like forcing her, having fights over this and maintaining a connection with M within all of this/ Do you really feel that a connection is made suppressing another one?

Connections are made in complete peace and harmony with existing connections growing because of the new one.

What you have is the existing connection being threatened because of the other.

Be patient and reasonable and wait for the time to emerge for connections to co-exist and in the meantime, reassure your wife that your marriage means a lot to you.

May not sound fair, but it’s the only way to honour the marriage.

All the best!

Relationship

Anu Krishna |868 Answers |Ask -Follow

Relationships Expert, Mind Coach - Answered on Nov 01, 2022

Question by SS - Nov 01, 2022Hindi

Hi Anu,Hope you are well. I have recently started reading your column and I like the way you give suggestions and help people to overcome whatever issues they are going through in this beautiful journey called life.There is something that I would like to tell you and would need your suggestion and advise.There is a lady whom I know for over 4 decades living close to my house. Her father and my father are colleagues and used to work together and they are best friends. She knows me right from a very early age and she is quite elder to me by 8 or 10 years perhaps.Recently I happened to send her some MMS porn clips which I got from a group. I thought she will shout at me and block me...but she didn't do that. I still send her sometimes when I get such clips. Recently she said that this is not real. I don't know what she means by that. During my adult years when I was 21-22 years old I used to fantasise having a physical relationship with her. I had my own reasons because of the way she used to behave with me when I’d go to her house. But I never tried initiating it maybe because of lack of confidence or fear of getting scolded by her. Her kids are studying in America (masters level) and United Kingdom (graduation level).Few months ago I lied to her that there is a lady near my office who is the divorcee and is trying to get close to me physically and she is inviting me to her house a couple of times. The reason I told her this lie was to know how she will react... The moment I told her this she told me don't go to such people, just avoid her and tell her that you are in a relationship with me. I even told her that the lady who is the divorcee is asking me if I am having a physical relationship with her whom I know since childhood days. She just laughed and said your divorcee friend is mad...She even said that the divorcee friend (whom I created out of my imagination) is stuck because of my childhood friend.Whenever I ask my childhood friend to meet up she always tells me that she is busy and that she does not like anyone coming to her house because her husband might not like it.Anu what do you think? Is my childhood friend whom I know for 4 decades interested in having a sexual relationship with me but is not initiating it thinking that it will affect our married lives. Women will not do anything that will disturb their life security system. She is very rich because her husband is a corporate employee holding a leadership position and well paid around a crore per year. Will she allow me if I initiate sex with her?Please understand that I don't know how to initiate that as she doesn't want me to visit her in her house. She doesn't go out much but rather spends time home and goes out with her husband for Sunday church mass sometimes or goes to the nearby chapel for praying. I am happily married for the last 12 years.Last week also I sent her an MMS and she replied with an emoji (a grinning face with star eyes). What does this mean?Is she really wanting to have sex with me but waiting for me to initiate or she is doing time pass with me? I am willing to get physical with her.Please advise me... Thanks for reading this till the end.

Ans:

Dear SS,

Thank you for the kind acknowledgement on my columns. Much appreciated.

Why exactly is it important for you to pursue a new relationship?

As for your childhood friend, do know that being much older than you are, phases of life and its experiences are different for her than they are for you.

So, her wanting a relationship -- physical or otherwise -- maybe out of her want or lack of something in her life.

Shall we focus on you for the moment? Again, what is this interest in pursuing a relationship with her or alternatively wanting to know that if she wants one, so you can initiate it?

Where are you in terms of your ‘happily married’ life?

How does your wife feel about you being so interested in another woman besides her? Or does she not have a whiff of it as yet?

Why are you sending your childhood friend porn clips? What are you seeking from her? Or are you looking for a casual fling?

Not to sound like I am judging you here, there might be a possibility of exploring something new and different which I do see in many couples that I work with.

It could be because of the missing spark or the predictability within the marriage.

What if you spiced things up within the marriage?

Will you still feel the need to seek the company of another woman on chat or in any physical or emotional manner?

What I can suggest is: pour your energies in your marriage and it is possible that you begin to de-focus from your childhood friend and have a more meaningful connection with her.

Also, I fail to understand why she is so against you mentioning other women.

Whatever funny games that you both have been playing is rather childish testing each other and get a kick out of it.

Time to grow up and focus on your core relationships and nourish it to feel more full and content from within.

Good luck!

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Ravi Mittal |191 Answers |Ask -Follow

Dating, Relationships Expert - Answered on Nov 03, 2023

Asked by Anonymous - Nov 03, 2023Hindi